TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sunny Habitat]

I like the synths and percussion at the beginning. I like the sense of climax into :30, and subsequently into 1:15. The synths were a little generic at 1:15, and I would’ve liked to hear the hats at 1:30 come through the mix a little more. The breakdown at 1:50 is great, though, and really helps offer some solid structural relief. The fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy, but this is a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece. Honestly, the lack of originality is my main concern. Cool melodies, nice sense of harmony and texture, and a pretty clean mix overall. Nice work! ;)

8/10

dukebartje responds:

Thank you for the review! I have to admit, I usually take it a step higher when it comes down to how 'original' it sounds :) I'll work on that for the next songs! :D

[LS- Survival]

The synths at the beginning are a little harsh and distorted. I’d suggest some more careful equalizing to at least remove some of the treble tones. The melodic content at :52 is enjoyable, although I wasn’t a huge fan of this track’s instrumentation - when it’s not harsh and jarring, it’s cliche. There’s also not a ton of structural variety or melodic development here, and the melodies remain very simple throughout. The loop was pretty smooth, although I would’ve liked to see you flesh out the structure of this piece a little more. Overall, there’s a lot more you could’ve done with the composition here. I would’ve liked to hear more harmonic depth, and I also thought you could’ve done a lot more with the percussion here. It’s not all bad, though - the piece has a good atmosphere, and is also fairly catchy. Keep at it, man!

5.75/10

[Red Light Syndrome (Original)]

The atmospheric fade-in at the beginning was a cool idea. I love the instrumentation, and peachymaiden’s voice is really light and flowing. The lyrics at 1:25 are pretty jarringly violent, and don’t really compliment the mood of the piece all that well. The echo effects at 2:14 and other places are a little cheesy, but overall the composition is really strong here. I also think the drums could be a bit stronger in the mix. The chopped-up vocals at 3:40 didn’t fit the character of the piece well IMO. I appreciated the breakdown at 4:18, although the piece drags on a bit long. I like the layered vocals starting around the 5-minute mark. They add a great sense of climax and resolve to the piece. Overall, this is really strong work. Keep it up, you two! :)

9/10

Jabicho responds:

Hi man! thanks so much for taking the time to write such helpful review! :D
We'll take all suggestions with pleasure, It means a lot that you took the time to check out all parts of the song :D

[Poison (wip v3)]

The distorted synths at the beginning are cool, although I think I would’ve toned down the reverb a bit before you clearly established the chord progression at :06 - the reverb adds more to the texture when there’s more space in the mix. That’s a pretty small detail, though. The heavy chords at :16 sound a bit generic (the instrument, that is), and the drums at :38 are very distorted. I’d probably adjust the equalizing a bit in those chords to make some more room for drums, and some compression wouldn’t hurt. The transitions at :49 and 1:10 are pretty sudden, and I’m a little confused about the direction of this piece overall. There’s not much melodic content or cohesion, either. I appreciated when you stripped away the beat and pads at 2:15 for some structural variety, but I also would’ve liked to see you experiment more with dynamics and phrasing in this piece. The sound design is pretty cool, but I really think you need to go easy on the reverb and add some clarity to the mix. Panning is also a good tool to use to clean up the mixing. The lack of melodic content and constant distortion really hurt this piece a lot. There are some neat ideas here, but the production quality lacks clarity, and that detracts from my enjoyment of the piece. Please focus on mixing and mastering going forward - improving these skills is a major step towards making a strong piece. Tell you what: if you make a piece that has a cleaner mix, PM me and I’ll give you a scout. Good luck, man. ;)

4.5/10

[Jovds - Piratian]

Interesting use of instrumentation. The kick drum is a bit too heavy on the bass frequencies IMO. I don’t think :27 had as much of a sense of climax as you wanted it to, though. I’d highly recommend experimenting more with dynamics and filtering, because it wasn’t immediately obvious that was the drop. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the instrumentation at the drop itself - it was a bit high-pitched and dry, and also didn’t blend very well. At the very least, it needs some more reverb and equalization, if not a different instrument altogether. The melodic content in this piece is pretty enjoyable, but the piece is very short and could probably benefit from a more fleshed-out structure. I also think a lot of this piece is pretty minimalistic - again, reverb might help with that. Overall, I think your main areas of focus should be the composition and instrumentation. The piece wasn’t all bad, though. It’s fairly catchy, and, like I said, the melodies are refreshing. Keep at it, man! :)

5/10

jovds responds:

I weirdly feel like I've read this before... but anyway, I agree with everything you said... can't think of anything else to say lol. Thanks for the advice...

[Believe Redux]

I like the frantic strings at the beginning. I think the bass is a bit too loud, and also sounds a bit distorted in the mix. I like how you revert to minimalism at the 1-minute mark. Good use of structuring there. I think the string pads at 1:29 are also a little too loud, not allowing the melodic content enough space in the mix. A lot of the instruments here are a bit generic, especially the synths. The woodwind solo at 2:14 was a nice surprise, although all the ornaments take away from the easy, flowing vibe it had early in its solo. I think this piece has a lot of variety and character, which is good. The piece could use a little more experimentation with dynamics and phrasing, though, and the fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy. The composition is pretty strong overall. The mixing and instrumentation are my main concerns. Keep at it, my friend. :)

7.25/10

NGKFlower responds:

Thanks, I'm always making room for improvement. :)

[00FF 47]

The progression is interesting at the beginning, and I like the drums at :26. The pacing of the piece is very slow, though. The piano sample isn’t my favorite, either - the timbre just doesn’t sound very authentic. The kick also sounds a little indistinct in the mix by around the 1-minute mark, and again at 6:30 or so. I’d suggest toning down the reverb and being stricter with equalizing. The part at 1:42 offered some good variety, although I’m not convinced this piece has enough coherence to make it one cohesive whole in my mind. Nine minutes is a LONG piece, even for ambient. There’s also not a ton of strong melodic content in here relative to the length of the piece. Mostly it’s just built of repetitive ambient riffs laid out in succession. The track doesn’t always have a strong sense of direction to it - more so continuity, and that makes it hard to stay engaged after a while. If you’re going to make a piece that’s so long, I’d suggest really using phrasing and dynamics as much as possible in order to keep the listener attentive. I also thought the fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy. Stringing together different ideas into one without acknowledging or developing previous ideas later in your piece is not an effective way of structuring your track. Consolidate your ideas and give the piece a little more shape, and this has the potential to be an awesome track! As for now, I did enjoy the atmosphere and mood of the piece throughout, especially at around the 8-minute mark, so that’s a huge plus. Keep at it, man. ;)

6.5/10

[Felix Zophar - Wisdom]

I like the spacey atmosphere at the beginning. The synths are a little generic, as are the drum samples, particularly the clap. I like the sense of climax into 1:15 and the subsequent rhythmic breaks, although I think that section drags on for a bit too long. The piece is pretty repetitive, and also doesn’t have a ton of structural variety. I’d suggest experimenting a lot more with dynamics and phrasing in the future. The piece ends a little abruptly, and might’ve functioned better as a loop. It is rather catchy, though, and I like the mood and atmosphere. I didn’t notice any particular problems with the mixing, either. I think you could’ve done a lot more with the composition here, though, and that’s the major downfall of this piece. Otherwise, keep at it, man. :)

6.5/10

FelixZophar responds:

I tried to make a good drop

[Kirby 64: Miracle Matters]

I like the energy at the beginning. The synths are a little generic, though, and I don’t think the kick was as strong as it could’ve been. There’s not a strong sense of progression for the first half of the piece - just changes in energy levels. The melody at 1:15 is a little square, and the instrument you used sounds really thin and ominous, which I don’t think you were going for. I think you have a good sense of rhythm and structure, although the composition here is pretty underwhelming. The piece is lacking on phrasing, dynamics, and development. The fade-out ending also came across as pretty lazy. I’d like to see you put a lot more effort into how you arrange and vary the piece. It’s not all bad, though - this piece is really catchy, and has some cool ideas between the hits that first come in at :16 and the transitions. Keep at it, man. ;)

5.5/10

[BrainDead]

I like the melodic content at :04. The synth at the beginning is a bit generic, but fits the mood of the piece well. I wasn’t a huge fan of your drum samples either - the clap is pretty cliche, and the kick had a bit too much treble IMO. At 1:06, the bass is a little indistinct. I think it could be crisper if you tone down the reverb and be a little stricter with the equalization. I appreciated your use of panning with the synths, although I think drums should really be kept front and center except during transitional moments. The drops at around 2:00 - 2:45 were cool. The melody is getting pretty repetitive by around the 3-minute mark, though - I think it needs some more variation, and I also think this piece didn’t need to be 5.5 minutes long. I also thought the transition at 5:02 could’ve been smoother. Still, this is a pretty well-structured piece. My main issues are with the sound design and the repetition. Keep at it, man. ;)

7/10

Spadezer responds:

Alright, a TaintedLogic review. Much appreciated, and thanks for the feedback